Amazon and eBay India are selling banned coated manjas

Based on a petition filed by People For Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the green court had issued an interim order last month banning procurement, stocking, sale and use of not just deadly nylon manja but all types of coated threads.Manka Behl | TNN | Updated: January 10, 2017, 09:51 IST

Nagpur: Coated manjas, despite being banned by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), are being sold freely on leading online shopping portals. While marketing the manja, the websites are even using its ‘sharpness’ as the selling point.

Based on a petition filed by People For Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the green court had issued an interim order last month banning procurement, stocking, sale and use of not just deadly nylon manja but all types of coated threads. As per NGT, only biodegradable fabric is allowed for kite-fighting.

Despite this, different types of manjas are being sold on e-commerce websites like Amazon.in and ebay.in. ‘Extreme sharp nine-cord manja for those who never compromise’ reads the product description of a manja on ebay.in.

As per the information available, 16 such manja reels were sold out on the site for Rs320 each from December 23, 2016 to January 9 this year.

Slamming the online sale, PETA has contended that the NGT’S ban is applicable for online sale too. “This appears to be clear violation of the court. When the websites are stating that the thread is sharp, it definitely is coated either with glass, metals or some other substances,” said PETA India’s government affairs liaison Nikunj Sharma.

On Amazon.in, reels of ‘Bareilly special 100% glaced cotton’ manjas are available. “Bareilly manjas are mostly coated with glass-powder which is hazardous. As the glaced part is not defined on the sites, it is difficult to say what the coating is. Nevertheless, all types of coating are banned,” said Sharma.

Till Monday evening, only one such reel was left in stock as per the information displayed on the site. TOI had earlier reported about the business of nylon manja going underground in local markets. “As sharp manjas are not easily available on ground, they are being sold-out fast online,” Sharma added.

TOI’s e-mails asking for the websites’ response were not answered. PETA plans to raise the issue before appropriate forum. TOI has been repeatedly reporting how sharp kite-flying threads cause serious injuries to humans as well as birds every year. While many kite-flyers expressed disappointment over switch to plain cotton thread stating that it is not strong enough for kite-fighting, PETA maintained that safety of lives was more important than fun and adventure of kite-fighting.